


Falling Is Like This

by MarvelMerlin



Series: DBH Superhero/Vigilante AU [2]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Everyone else just chooses to ignore them, Fluff, M/M, Markus and Simon are hopeless gays, Marriage Proposal, Simon does ballet, There's wedding snapshots, Weddings, backstory snapshots, but still some angst, carl kinda sucks, more superhero shit, superhero au, there is a significant amount of fluff, there's proposal stuff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-23
Updated: 2020-08-23
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:33:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,133
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26070460
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MarvelMerlin/pseuds/MarvelMerlin
Summary: A peak into the earlier lives of the heroes from A Protector and A Hero, focusing on Simon and Markus. It does also delve into some of the more horrible aspects of their training, quite a lot of it borders on abuse/manipulation.Title of the work, and the chapters, are from the playlist I listened to while writing this: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6WhPLni9H2QYsxhCwqesNW?si=k_aAoTSfQeaxAdzD3544XQ
Relationships: Connor & Josh & Markus & North & Simon (Detroit: Become Human), Connor & Upgraded Connor | RK900, Markus/Simon (Detroit: Become Human)
Series: DBH Superhero/Vigilante AU [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1889902
Comments: 1
Kudos: 9





	1. To Build A Home

Markus’ powers developed when he was nearly 14. He was pulling the plants and hides out of his old fish tank to clean them before putting them in his new one when one of the heavier hides slipped and broke through the glass. He caught it and crushed it in his bare hands. He pulled back in shock and a shard of glass stuck through his hand, in his palm and all the way out to the back of his hand. 

He screamed and his father ran up the stairs and burst open the door. When he saw the glass in his son’s hand he carried him into the bathroom, talking to him soothingly, as he cried. Carl gently removed the shard of glass, and as he did, Markus’ skin healed over the cut. Within 2 seconds of the glass being removed the wound was gone, completely closed over, without so much as a scar.

The first thing he did was call his best friend, Simon.

Simon’s powers had developed when he was 13. He was in a public school. His classmates knew he was _different_. His mom told him that just meant special, but he didn’t like being different. Being different meant kids threw things at him. It was gym class, and they were playing dodgeball. Everyone, even his own team, was throwing the hard plastic balls at him.

Something inside him broke and he started sobbing with his arms out, and the balls stopped. In mid air. Simon looked around, bewildered, as every ball hovered in place, unmoving. 

He dropped his arms, and the balls fell to the ground.

His mother had pulled him out of school that day. She said that in a few years he’d have new friends and a new school. Markus would be there, she promised. And Simon had held onto that.

When Markus got his powers, they moved to a private estate outside Hermann, Missouri. It was just them in the car. Carl’s driver wasn’t much for talking.

When the two of them arrived, they met two others, Josh and North. They’d met North’s baby brothers, who were three years younger than her; they were two years younger than Markus. 

Josh was quiet for the first few weeks, but slowly he was drawn in. For the first two years it was fun. Josh and Simon were roommates, and North and Markus were both given their own rooms, though they understood that wouldn’t last long.

The year North turned 18, her mom died, and she became her brothers' legal guardian. Both of her brothers' powers had surfaced - Connor could fly, and Niles was bulletproof.

They became a family overnight. Niles moved in to bunk with Markus, and Connor moved in with his sister. 

They were all sent to the same private school, uniforms and everything. On his 16th birthday, Markus realized he had feelings for Simon. 

On Simon’s 17th birthday, not even a month later, he realized he had feelings for Markus. 

On the twins’s birthday, they were all pulled from school and limited to the estate’s grounds.

That was the day Carl explained his plan. And they spent that night in Markus and Niles’ room, all six of them, sitting in silence while they came to terms with their new lives.

“The council’s always been corrupt, why not just overthrow them and take power himself?” North asked. Niles sat behind her, braiding her hair.

“That would undermine the point of this whole plan.” Josh was always the voice of reason, even though he was the youngest of them. “He wants the council to be better. He wants us to not have to hide, to have a choice.”

Markus and Simon were shoulder to shoulder, Markus’ head leaned against the wall and Simon’s head on his shoulder.

“What would you do? If you had the choice?” Markus asked.

“I’d go home. Back to Detroit,” North said, handing her brother an elastic band. “I remember that city being so corrupt when we left. A vigilante had surfaced before Amanda died. You know how bad a city has to be for a vigilante to surface? We could clean it up so fast. We could make them listen.”

“I don’t want to make people listen to me. I want to help them,” Simon spoke softly. 

“Of course you do. You’re _perfect_ ,” North retorted, flicking one of her elastics at Simon, who stopped it in mid-air.

“What about you, Markus?” Connor asked.

“To be honest, I don’t know. He’s been preparing me to lead since the day I found out about my powers. I don’t know what else I _can_ do.”

“Bullshit,” Josh said, tossing a rubber ball at Markus’ head that Simon also stopped in mid air, before sending it back to Josh.

“He’s right, you’ve got more choices than any of us. You’re Markus Manfred. You’ve got millions of dollars just sitting in your trust fund. You could fuck off to Albania and live as a reculse and never have to worry about money, not once,” Niles spoke up, flipping the finished braid over his sister’s shoulder.

“I think whatever happens, if the plan fails, none of us would survive long. The council’s ruthless. If Markus does lead us he’ll be made an example of,” Connor said.

“And there’s my lovable baby brother coming in clutch with the pessimism,” North flicked an elastic at Connor.

“He’s right, though,” Markus sighed and closed his eyes. “If we ever do this, losing won’t be an option. We’ll be killed if we lose.”

“Odds are 5:1 that one of us will die in this plan,” Josh said from the corner. Simon felt Markus sigh.

“I won’t let that happen.”

“You don’t control everything, Markus,” North said, leaning forward. “I’d be honoured to die for this.”

“Don’t say that. Please,” Niles said, his voice quiet. North turned back to look at her brother.

“It's true, Niles. And if I do die for this, you’ll move on, forget about me, and live your life.” She turned back to the rest of the group. “All of you will.”

Markus looked at Niles. He was _visibly shaking_.

“I think you should head to bed,” he said. Connor, North and Josh left. Simon made to leave too, but Markus held him back.

He waited until the door closed and the talking faded. Markus and Simon shifted, sitting on either side of Niles. Niles leaned into Markus, who wrapped his arms around him. He felt Simon wrap his arms around the both of them.

“I don’t want to lose anyone else.” Niles said, his voice shaking. “I can’t.”

“You won’t, Niles.” Simon reassured. “You and Markus are nearly indestructible. Connor can get away from anything. Josh can control shit, and North, for all her talk, is too strong to go down in a fight.”

“And nothing can touch Simon. He’d catch it with his freaky mind shit.”

Niles laughed wryly. Markus met Simon’s eyes over Niles’ body, mouthing _‘Stay’_. Simon nodded, settling in for the night. 

Over the next month, though, things went from bad to worse. The safety they’d felt on the estate evaporated. Carl explained that what he was doing would make them stronger, but Markus didn’t know about that.

On November 20, Leo arrived, and Markus was overjoyed, running to meet his brother. Then Carl pulled a gun out and fired on his sons. Markus screamed and shoved Leo to the ground, taking the 17 bullets, feeling them hit his vital organs. 

That day he was placed in his bed on strict bed rest. Simon visited him once.

“Carl says it's my turn. Markus, I’m scared.”

“You’re stronger than I am, Simon. No matter what, don’t let him harden your heart.”

Simon was gone for four days. He came back late at night with his eyes far off. He slipped into Niles and Markus’ room, and into Markus’ bed. Simon curled into Markus and fell apart. 

Niles was brought to the basement and a loud bang reached them. Simon flinched. Niles ran back to his room and joined Markus and Simon on Markus’ bed.

Connor was brought to the top tower of the estate and shoved out the window. He came into Markus and Simon’s room covered in bruises, with branches in his hair. Markus and Simon gently picked them out.

North came to Markus’ room after hers, covered in blood and staring at her hands. Markus cleaned off her shaking hands, and Simon began cleaning her face, gently.

Carl summoned Josh, Markus, Simon, Connor and Niles the next day, instructing each of them to get into sealed boxes.

First was Markus. Flames licked up, searing his skin. It was agonizing. Eventually Josh calmed the flames, but Markus couldn’t open one eye, the skin had been burned shut. He looked at the other three who were banging on the walls of their boxes.

Next was Connor. Dirt began pouring in, filling the empty space. Markus joined in the banging, trying in vain to break through, to stop Carl from killing him. Josh stopped up the funnel, and Connor was able to sit on top of the dirt piles.

Then it was Niles. Water poured into his, fast. He was running out of air. Josh forced the water back out of the tank, Niles collapsed unconscious.

Markus turned with horror to Simon who was in the container next to him, sharing a wall. The oxygen began being sucked out of the containment field. Simon collapsed to his knees, heaving. Markus banged harder. Simon placed his hand on the glass and looked Markus in the eyes. Markus placed his hand over the glass, his hand lining up with Simon’s. He looked at Josh in panic. It was an agonizing five seconds of Simon heaving before he finally heaved in a deep breath, coughing. 

Carl pressed a button and the walls slipped into the floor. Markus pulled Simon into his arms, and Simon clung to him for dear life.

From that day on, Markus protected his family from his father. He refused to let any of them sleep alone. They dragged their beds into Markus and Niles’ room. Niles, North and Connor shoved theirs together. 

Leo had raged at Carl and knocked out the power.

He climbed into Markus’ bed like he used to do when he was a toddler. Markus wrapped his baby brother up in his arms. He didn’t care that his brother was high out of his mind, he was safe here. 

He made a promise that day, to all of them, that he would protect them, no matter what.

That was the day he became their leader. He held that memory close to his heart.

The day they looked to him after Carl had told them to do something was the day Carl realized he’d made them a team. But it was in spite of him, not because of him.

Markus spent the evenings checking in on everyone. And then he’d return to the corner he kept his bed in, to find Simon waiting for him. Simon was the only person who saw the tired Markus. Simon was the only one who saw Markus fall apart. 

There were days when Simon was the only person who could touch Markus.


	2. Anywhere But Here

The morning of January 15th, 2023, it was cold, and there was frost on the windows and snow on the ground. Markus had slipped away, hopefully unnoticed. But Simon noticed. 

Simon always noticed.

Markus was sitting on a bench on the edge of the estate looking over the frozen river. It was serene. He felt the bench shift next to him as Simon sat, hands in his coat pocket.

“Simon, you hate the cold, you should go back inside.”

“I’m fine.”

“Simon-” he said in a warning tone.

“Markus.” Simon mimicked his tone teasingly.

Simon shivered just a little. Markus looked at him and held out his arm and Simon scooted closer and into Markus’ warmth. Markus reached up and cupped Simon’s cold, flushed cheek.

“You really should go inside.” He said softly, running his thumb across Simon’s cheek, trying to run some warmth into it.

“So should you. You’re not a heater, you can still freeze to death,” Simon chastised, needing Markus to take care of himself for once.

“I like the cold, everything’s,” Markus trailed off, looking into Simon’s eyes. “Clearer.”

“Everything?” Simon whispered back.

“Everything,” He replied, voice soft. Markus leaned forward and gently pressed his lips to Simon’s freezing ones.

Simon inhaled in a quiet gasp, his eyes fluttering shut as he slipped his hands out of his pockets and wrapped his arms around Markus’ neck.

When they broke away, their breathing fogged up the air between them. Markus opened his eyes and found Simon’s still closed.

Markus pressed his forehead to Simon’s. “I’ve been waiting to do that for five years,” he whispered.

Simon’s eyes shot open and a wide smile spread across his face. “I’ve been waiting for you to do that for five years.” 

“We’re idiots, aren’t we?” Markus laughed, wrapping his arm around Simon’s waist and pulling him even closer.

“Just a little.” Simon’s eyes shone with happiness. 

The next morning, he’d had to explain to Carl that he didn’t need to continue with the barrage of tests that came with every blood draw. 

The morning after, Simon was sitting next to him as Jerry drew a sample from Simon’s arm too. 

After a month, Carl was content to stop the tests.

On February 18th, Markus snuck out, pulling Simon with him. They drove the hour into St. Louis. Markus had something planned that he wasn’t telling Simon, no matter how much Simon asked and begged.

And then they were sitting in a theatre, and in Simon’s hand was a ballet programe for Romeo and Juliet. They had a box close to the stage, on the second level. It was just the two of them, and Simon watched the whole thing, captivated. 

When intermission came Simon turned to Markus, a smile plastered across his face.

“You remembered.”

“Of course I did.” Markus took Simon’s hand. “You talked about this ballet for six hours when we met. I remember how happy it had made you.”

Simon leaned over and kissed Markus quickly. “You remembered.”

“I remember everything you tell me.”

The house lights dimmed again as the second act began. The arm of the chairs between them raised up and Simon pushed them out of the way, leaning into Markus for the rest of the show.

When the show ended, Simon shot to his feet applauding. Markus chuckled to himself, watching his boyfriend’s glee. 

As they were preparing to leave, an usher entered their box and said that the ballerina who played Juliet wanted to talk to them. Simon’s face lit up.

In moments they were backstage and Simon was bouncing on his toes. When the woman broke away from her prep team, she ran head-long into Simon, who wrapped her in a hug, spinning her around.

“Simon, you son of a bitch! I thought you’d died or something!” She was clearly fond of him.

“Or something.” He smiled, holding her hands out, spinning her around. “You look beautiful. You did wonderful!”

The woman smiled, and noticed Markus standing just behind Simon. “Tsk. Simon, you’re being rude, introduce me to your friend.” She chastised.

Simon’s grin widened, his eyes shining with pride. “This is Markus, my boyfriend. Markus, this is Alexi. We were in class together before.”

Markus took the ballerina’s hand. “You danced wonderfully.”

“Thank you! I suppose I have you to thank for bringing Simon all this way?”

“You do. Although if I’d known he’d had a friend in the cast I would’ve told him sooner.”

She smiled, turning back to Simon. “Have you kept up with dance?” she asked, looping her arm through his in a familiar way.

Simon looked over at the stage. “I wish. There wasn’t a great deal of... Opportunity to train, where we moved.”

“I asked your mother what happened to you, she said you’d been accepted to some fancy private school?”

“That's... One way of putting it.”

“Does the school have to do with your....” she looked hesitantly at Markus before looking back to Simon and simply raising an eyebrow.

“Markus is like me, different, ahem, ability, but same strength.” Simon answered.

“She knows?” Markus asked, guarded.

“Well, when I nearly threw her into the ceiling in class because I suddenly woke up stronger than the day before, yeah. She knows.”

Markus nodded, and Alexi added, “I’ve never told anyone, not even Simon’s mom. I wasn’t sure she knew. I wasn’t sure who knew.” She turned to Simon “So you’ve found more like you?”

“Markus and I’s families are friends. Because of this. That's where I’ve been.”

The three of them retreated to her dressing room, and closed the door.

Markus listened as Simon and the girl caught up. Simon helped her out of the delicate costume and headpiece, unpinning her hair for her as well. 

From their conversation he learned that the two of them had been in a ballet class together from age 2, and that at age 10 they’d both been selected for a specialized program and they’d both accepted. For three years he’d lived for dance, forgetting the bullies at his school and living for the five hours after school and eight hours on Saturday and Sunday. 

He learned that he’d tried to keep up with dance, practicing in the house’s attic in secret the whole time. How he had slipped away to a weekend class in the city for 5 years without Carl’s say so.

Markus watched as Simon came alive in a way he’d never seen, and his heart broke a little for the boy who dreamed of dancing and who, by mere chance, had developed powers that had stolen that dream from him.

They dropped Alexi off at her apartment, after she and Simon had exchanged numbers and promised to stay in contact. They drove to the hotel Markus had booked for the night and Markus watched a tear slip down Simon’s cheek.

“Simon?”

“I just...” He took a deep breath. “My switch, the button Carl pressed, he held people at gunpoint and fired. He killed over and over until I could stop the bullet. Then he made me redirect the bullet to hit someone else....” He was crying now. “I just wanted to dance, Markus. Why did the universe have to choose me? Choose us?”

Markus pulled into the valet service, looking over at Simon and brushing the tears away from his face. “I don’t know. I wish I did, but I don’t.” 

Simon slipped the mask back into place and Markus handed the valet a large tip and the keys to the car. 

They walked up to the elevator, and headed to their luxury suite. Simon walked in and sat on the ottoman by the door, the mask was gone and Simon was far off. 

Markus gently helped Simon out of the suit he was wearing, carrying him to the bed and tucking him in. Markus made his way to the bathroom and took a shower before he climbed into bed next to Simon.

Simon turned over and curled into Markus’ side.

“I’ve got you, Si. I’m not going anywhere.” He kissed Simon’s head. “I will always protect you. With my life.”

They stayed in St. Louis for a week, while Simon slowly climbed back to where he was. Both of them found themselves orienting themselves around the other’s position, in rooms, in bed, outside, everywhere. 

The centre of their worlds had shifted.

Before they returned home, Alexi reached out with an offer. There was an opening at the studio for a few hours, if Simon wanted it, he could have it.

Simon jumped at the chance, and Markus sat, back against the mirror, as Simon warmed up, breaking in a new pair of slip ons. 

And then Simon danced, and it was the most beautiful thing Markus had ever seen.

For three hours Simon danced, losing himself in the movements he’d given up to train to save the world. 

When he was finished cooling down, Markus walked over to him, wrapping one arm around Simon’s waist and raising his other hand to brush Simon’s hair out of his eyes.

“Beautiful,” Markus spoke softly, resting his hand on Simon’s cheek as he beamed at him.

“Really?”

“My new favourite thing.” Markus pressed a kiss to his lips, feeling Simon’s hands come to rest on his chest.

They extended their hotel stay three days and when they returned each of their family members pointed out that Simon couldn’t sit or walk straight for several days.


	3. I Lived

On January 1st, 2025, Carl announced that he would be leaving for 5 years. The next day he was gone, and his family looked to Markus.

He kept them training, sparring and running through simulations every morning, for three hours. And then they were free to do whatever they wanted.

Josh re-enrolled in university, completing his Bachelors in two years and continuing for his Masters in biology.

Niles began a degree in analytics, completing it in 4 years.

North went back to school for a Masters in conflict studies, and once she’d finished she began to volunteer with a local feminist group.

Connor started volunteering at the local animal shelter. That was when they’d discovered that he was allergic to cats. Connor would constantly bring home fosters, and soon they had several foster dogs, rabbits, guinea pigs and at one point, a foster pig. 

Leo spent the five years in and out of rehab. He was constantly angry at Carl, for everything. Markus didn’t blame him - he constantly felt the same anger at his father. But he didn’t want his baby brother destroying his life because of that anger.

Simon began sneaking back to classes, out of habit, in the city, Markus driving him and picking him up. Over the first year, Simon slowly became brighter, more open. He made new friends and Markus met all of them.

In March of the first year, Simon was asked to dance in a showcase. He was so incredibly nervous that he almost said no, until the rest of their family stepped in. Markus called Alexi and got her a ticket in secret, meeting her outside the theatre before the showcase started, with Josh, Niles, and Connor in tow. 

The five of them sat in the front row and cheered the loudest they could when Simon took his bow. When Simon heard them he flushed bright red as he exited the stage. 

It became a constant in their years, there were three showcases with the studio and Simon was asked to dance in all three. At the third showcase, Simon was invited to audition for the St. Louis company, and when he was admitted, the whole family had a huge celebration at a restaurant in the city. 

He danced in the company for the rest of 2026 and all of 2027.

In September of 2028 Simon was asked to audition alongside his castmates, and in October he was given the part of the Nutcracker, dancing opposite Alexi as Clara. 

On November 29th, they had a dress rehearsal where they invited all of the families of the cast. 

Markus had reached out to the choreographer who in turn had reached out to the rest of the cast with Alexi’s help. As the final moments of the music played Markus snuck backstage, hiding while the cast took their bows. 

Once Simon had exited the wings to take his bow Markus slipped behind the cast, box in his hand. He saw Simon look at his empty seat as the house lights came up. Their family gestured for him to turn around, and as he did the cast parted so Markus could walk through them.

Simon raised an eyebrow, opening his mouth to ask a question when Markus got down on one knee. Simon’s hands flew to his face, covering his mouth in shock, his eyes shining.

“Simon Chapman, I have been in love with you for more than 10 years. I love you and everything you are, everything you are capable of, and everything you choose to do. You have the biggest heart of anyone I’ve ever met and the fact that you’ve given me that heart never fails to make me love you more. 

“No matter what happens in the future, I know that I want to do it with you, every step of it.” Markus opened the box to reveal the ring he’d picked out, it was a thin gold band with veins of silver running through it, small diamonds set in the veins. “Will you marry me?”

Simon nodded, speechless, as he reached out for Markus who stood, wrapping his arms around his fiancé and kissing him, lifting him off the ground a few inches and spinning him around as the cast and their families applauded and their family cheered. 

Markus slipped the band onto Simon’s finger, slipping the delicate chain that matched the band around his neck, whispering in his ear as he held him close. “For when you can’t wear it on your finger.”

“You thought of everything.” Simon’s soft voice was in Markus’ ear as his hands clung to his shoulders.

They got married on the estate on January 15th, 2029, by the bench they’d sat on. Simon asked North and Alexi to be his groomsmaids, and Markus had asked Niles and Connor to be his, with Josh getting an online certification to marry them. 

Their wedding rings were mirrors of each other, Markus’ a thick gold band inset with aquamarine and Simon’s engagement ring nestling with his silver wedding ring inset with mother of pearl.

Markus asked Jerry to stand in for Carl, who they had made a point about neither informing nor inviting, to walk him down the aisle. Simon’s mother Rose flew in with his little brother Adam, who had developed the ability to project shields onto others, and himself.

It was a blur in Markus and Simon’s memories, with moments they remembered. 

Markus remembered seeing Simon walk down the aisle with his mom on one arm and his little brother on the other. His mom kissing his cheek, and his brother hugging him tight, before his mother placed his hand in Markus’. 

Markus remembered Simon’s flushed cheeks, just as red as they’d been eleven years ago. His fingers cold in Markus’ warm hands. 

Simon remembered the wedding band fitting with his engagement ring for the first time, he remembered sliding Markus’ onto his finger and how Markus had squeezed his hand as they’d finished signing the legal paperwork. 

They both remembered their first kiss as husbands, less than 5 feet from where they’d had their first kiss. Markus’ hands on Simon’s cold cheeks and Simon’s hands on Markus’ chest. 

It was perfect. 

They went back to the hotel in the city for their short honeymoon. Simon had a performance as the Prince in Swan Lake a few weeks after their wedding, so they chose to stay in, ordering stupidly large amounts of room service and, for a week, they didn’t train, they didn’t think about how they were going to save the world, and they didn’t think about Carl.

In May of 2029, they had a serious conversation, and found both of them were in agreement. And in June they began to fill out forms to adopt a child.


	4. Try

Carl returned on December 28th, 2029. And things had changed more than he’d imagined since he’d left. He was furious.

He’d called them into his office to chastise them all. He demanded Josh stop working towards his PHD, that Connor send the animals back, that North stop campaigning and gaining public traction, and that Simon quit the company.

Markus stood, towering over his father.

“You will not control my husband, or our family,” He spoke level-headed, but he was seething. 

Carl reeled, blinking at his son. “What do you mean your  _ husband _ ?”

“While you were gone, things changed, Carl. And they changed irrevocably,” Simon spoke, standing behind his husband with his hand on Markus’ shoulder.

There was a scraping of chairs as the rest of their family stood, backing up Markus.

“I will tell you what will happen, Carl. If you intend to have any part in our lives you will stop trying to control us. We’re all adults, including Leo. You will acknowledge that we have lives  _ outside  _ of your use for us. And you will stay the hell out of our lives unless we invite you in first,” Markus spoke with authority. He felt Simon gently squeeze his shoulder reassuringly.

“That is not acceptable.”

“You could take control of our minds. I know you have the ability to. But if you do, I will never stop fighting your control. Ever. We are  _ people _ , Carl. We have thoughts and feelings of our own. We will go through with your little plan, and we will follow you, but you will stop treating us like the scared children you created.” Markus took a deep breath, and turned his back on Carl, intending to walk out.

“Stop.” The command took root in his mind as Carl asserted telepathic control. “You will not turn your back on me.”

Simon raised his hand, shoving Carl into the wall behind him. Carl cried out in pain and the concentration was broken. 

Markus walked out with Simon next to him and their family behind him. Markus told them to pack their bags. They were leaving, until Carl got his priorities straight.

Simon called Alexi, letting her know what was happening, and she told them, all seven of them, to come to her apartment.

They arrived with a bag each at her apartment. She’d gone out and bought air mattresses and filled her living room with them. She hugged each and every one of them as they came in. Markus noticed she lingered a little longer on North than the others.

Simon had an arm around his brother-in-law’s shoulder and Leo looked even frailer than he had that morning. All of them pulled their air mattresses together, all of them needing to be together.

Three long days of radio silence later, there was a knock on Alexi’s door. Markus opened it to find Jerry standing there. 

“He wants to talk to you.  _ Just _ you,” he said.

“Everywhere I go, Simon goes too. Especially with him.” 

“I told him you’d say that.” Jerry nodded to Simon, who offered a slight smile. “He’s down the street at a cafe.”

Markus turned to his family, scanning their faces. One by one they nodded at him. Markus held his hand out to Simon, who took it without hesitation, grabbing both of their jackets. 

They walked to the cafe hand in hand. Simon ran his finger across Markus’ wedding band subconsciously.

When they arrived both of them stopped before sitting down. Carl was in a wheelchair. 

“You’re quite powerful, Simon, for how quiet you are,” Carl said, gesturing for them to sit.

Markus and Simon took their seats, and Carl looked between the two of them.

“So this is the route you’ve chosen?”

“It is,” Markus said. He was sitting nearly perched on his chair, ready to bolt the second Carl tried something. 

“You’re sure about him? 100%?” Carl asked his son.

“Infinitely sure.”

“And you’re sure you want to spend your life standing behind Markus?” he asked Simon.

“That's what I’ve always done. I’ll continue to stand behind him ‘til I die.” Simon’s confidence in his words gave Markus even more confidence.

“This isn’t just about us. You’ve treated Leo like he’s expendable his whole life, like a backup for me if something happened to me. He’s his own person, Carl. He’s irreplaceable, and you’re driving him to self-destruct. You took the Sterns in when they were still young, but they aren’t scared kids anymore. They’re not scared of you anymore. Neither is Josh.” He leaned forward. “You can’t control us anymore.”

After that, Carl tried his best. Josh chose to leave training and pursue his degree, as well as a teaching position.

North chose to stay, as did Connor and Niles, though Markus was fairly sure Niles was only staying to protect his brother. Markus and Simon moved into a different room in the estate, far from Carl. 

Life became a life, instead of a routine. And Markus and Carl dropped Leo off at rehab again and again. In 2033 it finally stuck, and Leo began pursuing his teaching certificate. 

In 2037, Markus and Carl decided it was time to launch a trial run, a small scale mission to grab some of the local Red Ice dealers and drop them off at the local precinct. 

They came back without North. And Markus and Simon called Alexi. And Alexi stood between the Stern twins, an arm around each of their waists, as they lowered an empty coffin into the ground on November 6th. 

They left Missouri the next day. Simon had stepped down from the company, and Leo transferred his schooling to a university in Detroit. 

On November 7th, 2037, they began to work as a team of heroes, and met the local vigilante team that had been active for the past decade. They were on tense terms for a while, but eventually they found a way to work alongside each other. 

On April 7th, 2038, they stood in the Detroit Police Department’s Central Precinct. And in front of each of them stood an established detective. 

Markus was assigned to Detective Chris Miller, and Simon was assigned to Detective Tina Chen. Connor clicked with his partner Lieutenant Anderson immediately.

Markus and Detective Miller fell into a sense of familiarity within the first few weeks, as did Detective Chen and Simon.

On April 23rd, Niles came into Simon and Markus’ apartment and flopped dramatically on the bed.

“Detective Gavin Reed is going to kill me. One way or the other.” he said.

“One way or the other?” Simon clarified, pulling down a third mug and a third tea bag and pouring boiling water into each cup.

“He has absolutely no regard for the rules or the facts of a case, he goes off of his gut instinct and then I’m stuck organizing paperwork and evidence to back up arrests he made on a gut feeling!”

Simon smirked knowingly at Markus, who returned the look, as he handed him his tea, walking over and handing Niles his mug.

“And the other way?” Markus asked from the desk he was sitting at, his police issued tablet unlocked in front of him.

“His infuriating colour-changing eyes and his fucking  _ perfect _ hair and his cocky fucking uneven grin when he turns out to be right about his gut feelings and his scars! Oh, fuck, his  **_scars_ ** !” Simon raised the bottom of Niles’ mug, making him drink some of the tea.

“So you’re into Detective Reed then,” Markus said, returning to look at his tablet.

“No, I’m saying I’m going to  _ marry  _ Detective Reed one day. I’m going to marry him and I’m going to kiss his perfect fucking lips and that stupid fucking tiny scar on his lip and every single scar on his body.”

“Niles, you know that in order for that to happen, you actually have to  _ tell _ Detective Reed how you feel, right?” Simon leaned against the wall opposite Niles and laughed as his eyes grew wide.

“I can’t do that! He’s- He’ll- I-” Niles sputtered.

“You won’t know if you don’t ask him, Niles,” Markus said, to sort of help, mostly to get Niles out of his room so he could work.

“You ranted to me for  _ years _ about Simon’s wonderful eyes and his wonderful body and his wonderful personality. Shut up and let me ganic. You have no room to talk.”

“Exactly how many years did Markus rant about me?” Simon asked curiously.

“Five years. Five very,  _ very _ long years.”

“I’m going to kill you in your sleep,” Markus said, still not looking up from his tablet. “And besides,  _ I _ eventually did something about it. And I kissed him and fucked him and married him. So get over yourself and do that shit with your detective.”

“He is not my detective.”

“You literally stared at his ass for 20 minutes in an interrogation yesterday. In your head, he’s yours,” Markus shot back.

“What he’s trying to say, in his very over-tired and hangry way,” Simon shot a look at his husband, “is that you either tell Reed soon, or sometime in the future, or you suck it up and stuff your feelings down. I’d recommend the first one, the second one never really works.”

**Author's Note:**

> If you wanna yell at me/talk bout this (or other) stories/ships I'm on twitter @marvelmerlin and on Tumblr @marvelmerlinao3


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